Family Pride
by Gamemaker97
Summary: Oneshot. It's day one of the 66th Annual Hunger Games, and District 2 is still in with a good chance of victory. But for eighteen-year-old Quintus Cato, this Hunger Games means more than staying alive. He must emerge from this arena as victor, and this is the reason why.


**A/N: This oneshot is set in the same Hunger Games as my main story, 'Second Time Unlucky'. If you've not yet read my main story, I strongly recommed that you do before reading this oneshot, as it may contain spoilers to 'Second Time Unlucky'. However, it's not 100% necessary to have read the story. This oneshot still makes sense without added background information. If you have read 'Second Time Unlucky', then I should point out that this oneshot takes place during Chapter 12 :) Finally, I hope you enjoy this rather short oneshot :)**

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**Family Pride**

**POV: Quintus Licinius Cato (18), Male Tribute, District 2**

**The Arena**

**1.30 pm, Sunday 15th July, year of the 66th Hunger Games**

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It's such a hot day. I've taken off my hooded jumper, leaving my arms exposed. Amongst other things, sunburn is a minor issue. I'd rather keep cool. I don't want distractions, not on a day like this.

Today is a day I've been preparing for these past seven years. Today is July the fifteenth. Today is the first day of the 66th Annual Hunger Games. I look back towards the forest on the far side of the cornucopia. Camp is starting to take shape. Good. I'll need somewhere to stay whilst I complete my destiny. For my family.

We're hated in the Capitol, but it hasn't always been that way. My great-great-grandfather was the Vice-President of Panem. Not that anyone remembers Tobias Flint, was assistant to President Shawcross in the years leading up to the Dark Days. Until he was ousted.

Tobias was accused of treason. Of plotting against the Capitol. But he was wrongly accused. Accused by the usurper, Valentin Greenwood, Tobias was exiled to District 2. And so began his personal vendetta against the Capitol.

He made a name for himself in Two. Within ten years, he was one of the wealthiest men in the district. He also made a powerful statement to the Capitol by changing his name. To show that he was a transformed man in his new life, to show that he was able to thrive without the Capitol.

The name he chose for himself was perfect. The Capitol have a habit of naming their children with names from a language called Latin, which apparently came from a far-off place called Rome. To show that he was as much Capitol as anyone, Tobias chose a traditional Roman name, which includes three Latin names. Tobias Augustus Cato.

You can't get more of a slap in the face to the Capitol than one of its largest political rivals changing their name to Cato. Cato means 'wise'. What this suggested about Tobias just added to his new persona in District 2. As if he knew what he was doing. That he didn't need the Capitol. But that they needed him. This was all part of his plan to regain the favour of the Capitol.

Three years after he was exiled came the Dark Days. Six long years of warfare before the last gun fired, with the Capitol controlling one less district than before. By the end of the war, Tobias was a grandfather. And the Capitol reaped his grandson (my grandfather) in the 8th Annual Hunger Games. But Amadeus Hadrianus Cato would not give in. He would show the Capitol not to underestimate the Cato family. And we showed them up well. Amadeus is the fastest ever Victor of the Hunger Games. There was only one death recap, and nineteen faces were shown in the sky.

Still in exile in District 2, my father was reaped in the 44th Games, and my family claimed a second Victor. I was born four years later, on the twenty-seventh of June. And now it is my turn. I've been spending my days at the Training Centre in District 2 for the last seven years, preparing for today. When I wasn't reaped, I volunteered to maintain my family's record of Victors, and to make sure that the Capitol does not forget the Cato name. For I am Quintus, the fifth male of the Cato line. And I will continue to fight to return my family to the honoured place in the Capitol that they rightfully deserve. Only this year, it's a more personal fight than most.

This year, Tiberius Greenwood, the grandson of the infamous Valentin Greenwood who robbed my family of its honour, is Head Gamemaker for the first time.

I've got nothing against any of this year's tributes. Well, maybe Pearl. Somebody needs to tell her to shut up. Other than when killing her, the anger that I will draw on during a kill will be aimed at Tiberius Greenwood. I intend to make sure that his Games will forever be associated with the Cato name, to make him feel guilt for the crimes of his forefathers.

Once I have left this arena as Victor, the mantle passes to my younger brother. Sextus Aurelius Cato, the sixth of the Cato line. He's eleven next month, and will start at the Training Centre on his birthday. His physique is great already. He's tall, muscular and athletic. By the time he's eighteen, he'll be unstoppable. Then he'll volunteer. I'll be so proud of him when he wins. With our two victories, our family might be welcomed back into the Capitol after eighty-three years of exile. At least, I hope that me and my brother will be. Quintus and Sextus Cato, Victors of the 66th and 74th Annual Hunger Games for District 2. Maybe then our family will finally return to its former glory.

My thoughts are stopped by an approaching tribute. It's 'Mora. My district partner. She started at the Training Centre on the same day I did, just over seven years ago. How time flies. We've never been close, but over seven years I've got to know a bit about her. She's the only one that might stir up emotions when I kill her. But she has to die. Just like the rest of them.

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**A/N: If you enjoyed this oneshot, please review :) Constructive criticism is welcomed :) Finally, if you enjoyed this and haven't yet read 'Second Time Unlucky', then please consider reading it :) **

**With thanks,**

**GM97 :)**


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